The present invention relates to a highchair for infants, that is, a highchair for young children who do not yet possess the skills to sit up. The highchair according to the present invention is thus directed at newborn infants and generally infants who are under the age of 6 months who do not possess the muscle coordination and ability to sit upright in a conventional highchair. The present invention is thus a highchair for children who are not yet toddlers. Additionally, because the seat of the highchair is detachable from its supporting structure, the invention also relates to an infant carrier.
Various conventional highchairs are known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,649,074 and U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 208,152, 188,844, 192,731 and 237,023 disclose various forms of conventional highchairs. Each of these highchairs has a vertical seat back which cannot be used by infants who cannot sit upright. Each of these highchairs employs a tray in front used during feeding of the child. These conventional highchairs are unable to support an infant who cannot sit upright, as they do not provide the necessary contoured support for such a child.
Various forms of infant and baby seats and carriers are also known, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,052,749 and 4,231,612. These devices, however, although suitable for use as carriers or car seats for infants, are not suitable for use as highchairs for infants and do not perform the same functions as highchairs.
The present invention is an improvement over the infant highchair described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 042,543, filed Apr. 5, 1993 in the name of Christine R. Shimer. In the infant highchair shown in that application, an infant seat which cradles an infant's body is disposed at the top of a supporting structure which elevates the infant seat to a level at approximately table height. The supporting structure is mounted on wheels allowing mobility of the infant highchair. That application discloses an infant highchair which has a plurality of positions of the infant seat, i.e., an upright and reclined position, but does not provide for detachment of the infant seat from the supporting structure.